No. 24 Bulldogs Take Down Panthers

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The No. 24 Yale women's tennis team handed Florida International a 6-1 defeat Friday evening in the Cullman-Heyman Tennis Center. The Bulldogs won the doubles point, then proceeded to claim five of six singles matches.

After losing at doubles last weekend against Vanderbilt (a rare occurrence for the Bulldogs, who have won the doubles point in 23 of their last 26 matches), Yale experimented with its lineup Friday, using two pairs who had not previously played together this spring. The adjustments paid dividends, as senior captain Elizabeth Epstein and freshman Madeleine Hamilton won 8-1 at No. 2, while senior Sarah Guzick and junior Annie Sullivan took their match 8-3 at No. 3. Guzick and Sullivan, who rank as the No. 53 pair nationally, have experience playing together but have had other partners of late. In the other doubles match, sophomores Amber Li and Hanna Yu, the No. 49 pair nationally, fell 8-4 in their first time this season at No. 1.

The singles matches went by quickly, with each one finished in two sets. Yale took the bottom half of the order with ease: Annie Sullivan defeated Giulietta Boha 6-1, 6-0 at No. 4, Amber Li swept Lotte Gras 6-0, 6-0 at No. 5 and Sarah Guzick bested Michelle Sabado 6-1, 6-1 at No. 6 to clinch the match. Meanwhile at No. 1, freshman Madeleine Hamilton, ranked No. 90 nationally, had a similarly hassle-free affair with Rita Maisak, defeating her 6-1, 6-2.

In the mostly hotly contested matches of the day, Elizabeth Epstein and Hanna Yu battled through long first sets at Nos. 2 and 3, respectively, but achieved different results: Epstein won her match over Aleksand Trifunovic 7-6, 6-0, while Yu conceded the point to Carlotta Orlando, 7-5, 6-0.

Junior Blair Seideman, who typically plays No. 3 singles, was missing from the lineup but may return Sunday, when the Bulldogs face No. 37 Arkansas. That match will be played at 11 a.m. in the Cullman-Heyman Tennis Center.